248 cook's voyage to march, 



the longitude of 201 53' E. Such parts of the 

 coast as fell under our observation, are guarded by a 

 reef of coral rock, on the outside of which the sea 

 is of an unfathomable depth. It is full five leagues 

 in circuit, and of a moderate and pretty equal height; 

 though in clear weather it may be certainly seen at 

 the distance of ten leagues ; for we had not lost 

 sight of it at night when we had run above seven 

 leagues, and the weather was cloudy. In the 

 middle it rises into little hills, from whence there is 

 a gentle descent to the shore, which at the south- 

 west part is steep, though not above ten or twelve 

 feet high; and has several excavations made by the 

 beating of the waves against a brownish sand-stone 

 of which it is composed. The descent here is 

 covered with trees of a deep green colour, very thick, 

 but not high, which seem all of one sort, unless 

 nearest the shore, where there are great numbers of 

 that species of draccena found in the woods of New 

 Zealand, which are also scattered in some other 

 places. On the north-west part, the shore, as we 

 mentioned above, ends in a sandy beach ; beyond 

 which the land is broken down into small chasms or 

 gullies, and has a broad border of trees resembling 

 tall .willows ; which, from its regularity, might be 

 supposed a work of art, did not its extent forbid us 

 to think so. Farther up on the ascent, the trees 

 were of the deep green mentioned before. Some of 

 us supposed these to be the rima, intermixed with 

 low cocoa palms, and a few of some other sorts. 

 They seemed not so thick as on the south-west part, 

 and higher ; which appearance might be owing to 

 our nearer approach to the shore. On the little hills 

 were some trees of a taller sort, thinly scattered ; 

 but the other parts of them were either bare and of 

 a reddish colour, or covered with something like 

 fern. Upon the whole, the island has a pretty aspect, 

 and might be made a beautiful spot by cultivation. 

 As the inhabitants seemed to be both numerous 



